THE SOCCER CODE

New Zealand Times, Volume LII, Issue 12116, 18 April 1925, Page 9

THE SOCCER CODE

MORE PUNCH WANTED TOO MUCH EMERGENCY COMMITTEE WHERE IS THE WEAKNESS? (Notes by "Aston.*) On the threshold of another season, and incidentally the" annual meeting of delegates to the New Zealand Football Association, it seems that the time is ripe for some plain speaking, and something should be done to clear the air in this respect at the meeting, which is now to take place on April 30th. The last heading of this article indicates that there is a weakness somewhere. It is intended to do so, not merely in the spirit of criticism, but in the hope that before the end of the month someone will be able to put a finger on the 1 weak spots and. do something. to remedy them. There is nothing wrong with the game. The fault lays with the control and management, the control being with the New Zealand Council, and the management with the local associations. Controlling bodies, however, must have some strength of purpose and show & sufficiently firm hand*"to bring refractory associations to their proper frame of mind when occasion requires. If an instance is required it is only necessary to mention Auckland, which in the past year or so has taken a rather bigh hand in its dealings with the New Zealand Council. Otago Association, also, has caused the parent body a good deal of anxiety in one way or another, and the difficulties these two associations have created have not been for the good of the game. One might go further and say that the motives which have inspired their course in certain instances have been purely selfish, that is in seeking the advancement of the game in their own particular district at the expense of other districts, or at the expense of the parent body. • AUCKLAND.

The Auckland body is a live one; there is no mistake about - that, but the impression in Wellington is that Auckland is suffering from a pretty severe attack o; swollen head, and the combination of circumstances gives strong grounds for such a belief. Auckland must be made to realise that the control is at present in Wellington, and that the edicts of the parent body must be accepted and acted upon. If and when the control is trans* ferred to Auckland, well and good; Wellington will have no kick coming. The latest instance of trouble is the dispute between Auckland and Canterbury. The northern -.association gavo her southern and weaker sister a guarantee if the latter would go to Auckland and play a Brown Shield match. Canterbury accepted, obtained the permission of the council to play a game—for propaganda purposes—at Manawatu on the way up. Canterbury went ahead, fixed a date with Manawatu, got the team together and made travelling arrangements, when Auckland, at the last moment, made a protest against the game' being played on the way, threatening to withdraw the guarantee in the event of it being played. Canterbury played the game, went on to Auckland —where, by the way, the team was rather unlucky to lose —but when settling day comes Auckland remits Canterbury something less than the amount guaranteed. Naturally the southern association is indignant at the way it has been treated by Auckland, and asked the council to order the fulfilment of the guarantee Auckland replied by refut ing the right of the council to give Canterbury permission to play the match at Manawatu, adopting a * mind-your-own* business” tone throughout. It w time that Auckland was made to realise-that its control of the game ends with its association boundaries. The council has ’decided that Auckland must pay. and it is hoped that the new council will see to it that Auckland does the right thing. CHINESE TOUR. So far as the tour of the Chinese University team is concerned, from the public point of view, it was a great success Many thousands who have never seen a Soccer gamo before went to see the Chinese play, and it was Auckland who had the record gate, a record for any sport in that city. But a heavy debit side on the balance-sheet made the credit balance smaller than was looked fir. And Auckland mulcted the council in the cost of sending the Chatham Cup from Auckland to Wellington, a sura of three or tour pounds* instead of sending it down in charge of one of their representatives who ‘ was travelling south. This by the way. __ . . The Chinese tour in the North Island was so successful that it was anticipated that after the first match in the fckrajh Island the remainder of the receipts would be profit, and it‘was generally expected that when the tour was completed there would be a profit of about £IOOO. Not without warrant members of the council began building castles in the air on the assumption that before long they would have a nice little sum in the bank to further the best interests of the code. Hadn't tfhey been struggling along for years with a hand to mouth existence, with a lalance in the bank which only enabled them to say they had a credit balance? With a £IOOO or tley would have been in clover. Wang’s illness and operation in Christchurch, and the expense of retaining another of the Chinese players to keep 'him company, took some of the gilt off the gingerbread. Naturally it was expected that this would reduce the balance, but not by more than a fifth at the outside. Then '•ame the function at which we said good-bye to the visitors, and not a few were surprised when the chairman presented a Kaiapoi rug to each member of the team and the manager. Another little £lO odd to come off the profits, which by this time were known to be diminishing rapidly. . . t , T . Of course questions were asked I n would have been surprising had it been otherwise. Who aurhoriseu the expenditure to give rugs all round? No one desired the council to be niggardly. Neither wore they. The visitors bad beei given a magnificent time all ike wav round, sight-seeing, dinners, trips to Rotorua, factories, etc., and plenty of amusements. Early in the tour they were given blazers, the red coats with their monogram woven on, they »ere amply supplied with football boots, nothing necessary was withheld, and certainly some expenditure was incurred about which questions will be asked when the balance-sheet is published. At a meeting of tho council a month agU the bounce-sheet of the tour was submitted subject to audit. Another meeting was held last week, and the audit had not then been completed. It is not suggested for one minute that the fault is on tho part of the auditor, but for some reason or other the balance-dieet has been unduly delayed. Maybe wmr association has contributed by not cleaning up the accounts, but.this is not the only cause. But the disturbing factor is this: the balance of profit will piobably be found not to reach three figures, unless tho council is fortunate enough to recover the whole of the sum in connection with letting the programme rights. ,r \ LTTTT E TOO MITCH!” During the whole of the tour too much executive power was taken by the emergency committee, which comprises some four or five members of the council; mem- ! bers who, to a great extent, have dominated the council. There ore members of tho council who feel that they have not been "ir. the know” to the extent that they had a right.to he, and that too much of file work of Mm ccmivi] was being done by a kin,! of *'Mg four.” It is granted without nurMi.ijj ih.it Mioy are men whose lie vrt and .-on) is in the game, who have given an c.w» mo .is aiu rant oi time in it • 1.. i-m'.; riic cost —and the » . = is j big ; ;. f —ijur somehow or other j they have not Vii e oil the goods. n ' ere j is to be no tour oi New Zealand by the

English team. Apparently in January there was some misguided haggling over £250, and by the time the council agreed to give this sum. the opportunity was gone. The Commonwealth Association had taken the country associations to its heart and had made arrangements to keep the English team in Australia for the whole of the visit. For the present the only prospects of visitors this season are a team from Australia, although it has been suggested that the council should move at once to got a team from South Africa, in view of their successful tour in England a year ago. Whether anything has been done to sound our South African friends is not known. It is a further fact that the relations between the council and the major associations dtfVing the past year or so have not been too cordial. There must be a reason somewhere. The English national game cannot go ahead in New Zealand unless there is a sympathetic understanding between the associations and between them and the parent body. About a month ago the treasurer made the remark that it was time the council put its house in order. It is. There is a motion down for. the annual meeting which may contribute something to the si>ring cleaning. It is. "That the affairs of the association sliall be governed by a council consisting of nine delegates appointed at the annual gene- , ral meeting of the association. The hon. officers, excepting the hon. auditor shall be ex-officio members of the council." Why not the hon. auditor? He perforins a useful and necessary office, he is an old player, and knows a lot about the game, and his help would be valuable at any time. In the past the council has been too unwieldy, hence too much of the work has been done hy the emergency committee. Such a committee may be necessary, but it is necessary to guard against it exercising the same amount of executive power that it has wielded in the past. Tiie manner of appointment of delegates in the past has left something to be desired, but if the proposal above mentioned is carried a 6ound step will have been taken.

Auckland is moving to Tescind the registration fee of Is per player (senior, junior and third). If the controlling body is to carry on its work with dignity it must have funds to work with. There will not be much from the Chinese tour, and the council must have funds if they are going to arrange tours. It is hoped that the delegates will view the matter in the right light and decline to accede to the Auckland request.